Transcript: President Obama's remarks on Crimson Tide's visit

President Obama accepts an Alabama jersey in the Tide's third trip to the White House. (Photo Courtesy: Crimson Tide Athletics Dept.)

THE PRESIDENT: Roll
Tide! (Applause.) Everybody, have a seat. Have a seat
here. It is a great pleasure to welcome the Alabama Crimson Tide to the
White House -- again. (Applause.) I want to congratulate them
on winning their 15th National Championship -- and their third in four
years. They are starting to learn their way around the White House.
(Laughter.) I was thinking about just having some cots for them here,
they're here so often -- except we couldn't find any that were big
enough. (Laughter.)

Now, before I begin, I want to extend sympathies to
the family of Mal Moore, who passed away last month, after a career that spanned
six decades as a player, a coach and athletic director at Alabama. Mal
did more than just about anybody to make this program what it is today.
Our prayers go out to all the members of the Alabama community who knew him and
loved him.

Now, last year obviously also had a lot of bright
spots for the Crimson Tide. From the beginning of spring practice, the
best teams in the country had one goal and that was to try to at least be as
good, if not better, than Alabama. But the Tide kept on rising to the
occasion and they never let up.

Back in January, with the whole country watching,
this team lined up against the number-one ranked, undefeated Fighting Irish of
Notre Dame, and dominated from the first possession. At halftime it was
28 to zero. That's when I stopped watching. (Laughter.) When
the clock ran out it was 42 to 14. And they left no doubt who was the
best team in the country. And after the game, the Notre Dame athletic
director said, "They're not just better than us. They're better than
everyone."

And that was no accident. A few days after
winning the title last year, Coach Saban was already back to work. And
even after losing some pretty big names in the draft last year, he and his
terrific coaching team made sure that they did not lose a step.

AJ McCarron showed the kind of poise that very few
22-year-olds possess -- passing for more than 2,900 yards and 30 touchdowns on
the season. I hear he's coming back for one more year, because apparently
the rest of the SEC defenses haven't suffered enough. (Laughter.)
So he's going to subject them to a little more pain.

Then there were the seniors, who finished their four
years with a combined record of 49 and 5, which I think is pretty good. Barrett
Jones ended his career as one of the most decorated football players in Alabama
history -- even playing in the National Championship game with torn ligaments
in his foot. After the game he said, "It was painful, but you couldn't
have pulled me off the field with a tractor." And I don't think he was
joking. I think that's true. (Laughter.)

This title also belongs to everyone who helped these
young men get to where they are today -- family and friends, high school
coaches and loved ones, trainers, staff, grocers. (Laughter.) These
guys eat a lot. It belongs to every student who came to every game, all
the fans who yelled "Roll Tide" at kickoff and cheered on the Million Dollar
Band.

In Miami on the night the Tide won the championship,
one Notre Dame fan apparently asked if "Roll Tide" is a noun or a verb -- to
which another fan dressed head-to-toe in crimson replied, "It's a way of
life." (Laughter.)

And that way of life has created legends like Bear
Bryant and Joe Namath -- it's also a legacy carried on by this team and
generations of fans who will fill Bryant-Denny Stadium to the rafters on
Saturday afternoons.

So obviously everybody here has a lot to be proud
of. I want to congratulate Alabama one more time on a great season.
I want to wish the players luck who will be taking part in the NFL draft next
year. And since I'll be around for four more football seasons, I expect I
just might see these guys again before I leave.

So, Roll Tide! Thank you. (Applause.)

Coach.

COACH SABAN: Mr. President, we certainly
appreciate what you do for our country. It's certainly special for you to
take the time to honor out team, which we're very proud of their
accomplishments relative to all of our fans, all of our supporters, all of our
coaches and players. And this is really a special occasion and something
you never really get used to. So we really appreciate it.

And we do have something that we want to present you
with today. And I might say, we're kind of keeping inventory of what
we've been giving you, and now you have a full uniform. You're an
official member of the team. (Laughter.) And I will have a meeting
later with you to decide how much playing time you're going to get.
(Laughter and applause.)

Players from the United States pose for the camera before the semifinal round of the women's hockey game against Finland at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. (Matt Slocum/Pool Photo via AP)

Team USA won the first meeting between the neighboring nations at the 1998 Winter Olympics. The Canucks have won every other meeting.